“We never shape the world…the world shapes us.” Toni Morrison – Self-Determination

Transcript

Steve Fouts: 0:06 

Hey everybody, Steve and Dan Fouts here. We are teaching different with  American novelist Toni Morrison, with a quote about self-determination, “We  never shape the world…the world shapes us.” This is a quote about your environment, and how, as we grow up, different forces come into play that help form who we are as people. They form our identity. These forces can be good or bad. We grow up in situations which can limit us or provide us with opportunities. Our ability to succeed is not based on our own will or character, but on our environment, the things that happened to us. What claim is  Morrison making here? 

Dan Fouts: 1:12 – Claim

I think she’s saying that we have very little free will and control over our lives. We don’t shape the world, the world acts upon us. We react based on what the world presents to us. Her quote seems very matter of fact, it’s not necessarily positive or negative. With students, you can have them share events in the world that have defined them as people, and then ask, how have those events defined you? 

Steve Fouts: 2:04 

Events that really changed them, and that they think about a lot. Where there was a Part A and a Part B to their life. Depending on the students, a question like this could get emotional. Sometimes tragedies define us. We remember how we used to be and how we’re different afterwards. It would be great to hear from them. 

Dan Fouts: 2:55 

I imagine the Coronavirus outbreak would be something that everyone would talk about. In fact, I can imagine this entire conversation being about the pandemic. I read an article the other day where people were talking about life before and after COVID 19. People are literally delineating their lives, pre and post. 

Steve Fouts: 3:26 

There’s no way to make a rational argument that it hasn’t affected you, the world hasn’t affected you, after a crisis like this. We’re recording this podcast in May, 2020. We’re in the middle of it, and we don’t know what’s going to happen. I think some students would definitely mention the pandemic. What do you think about a counterclaim to this? 

Dan Fouts: 4:00 – Counterclaim

Wealth, or the empowerment of people, have influence over the world.  I think that would be a way to politely push back on what Toni Morrison is saying. It’s not just the world happening, and us reacting to it, but that we have a measure of control to determine who we become.

Steve Fouts: 4:28 

Exactly, we have that power. We have a conversation in the library with Lincoln’s quote, “You don’t predict the future. You create it.”

Dan Fouts: 4:40 

And, the Booker T. Washington quote about how character, not circumstance makes a man. 

Steve Fouts: 4:46 

Exactly, it’s this idea of overcoming your circumstances. I’m going back into another conversation with Nietzche, where he said, what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger. Sometimes your environment, and the things that happen to you, shape you. They shape you in the sense that they bring out another part of you that was always inside you, but you never would have understood it if the world hadn’t acted on you in a certain way. This is an interesting blend of both of these ways of thinking of identity. 

Dan Fouts: 5:28 

Yeah, I agree. It brings something out in people that they didn’t know was there. 

Steve Fouts: 5:35 

That’s a question you could ask the students. They could share a time in their life when they felt they took control of a situation, where they determined who they were, and who they wanted to become. They basically ignored the world, and that’s why they ended up being successful at something, 

Dan Fouts: 5:58 

Right. A student who comes from a family without a lot of means or higher education overcomes that barrier by being the first in their family to go to college.

Steve Fouts: 6:10 

This conversation could help you find out a lot about your students. Everybody has a story to tell. They’ve overcome obstacles. The world hasn’t always been on their side, and they’ve had to react to it. A quote like this can bring out an awareness of self, and hopefully a determination to take control of events when they don’t go your way.  Draw on those inner strengths that you have, but also acknowledge that the world is there. It’s something that you have to deal with, and sometimes adapt to. 

Dan Fouts: 7:04 

Right, you have to understand both sides. 

Steve Fouts: 7:09 – Essential Question

Here’s an essential question you could use to wrap up this conversation. Do you  have influence over the world? I’d love to hear what the students have to say about that. They’re going to have to face the idea that the world acts upon them and figure out what they’re going to do about it as an individual. 

Dan Fouts: 7:34 

That can be an empowering realization. When they come to this moment where they feel like they have influence, they can gain a sense of acceptance at the same time. This is a really important question to consider now and throughout your life. 

Steve Fouts: 7:56 

We hope you enjoyed Toni Morrison.  Make sure you visit our Conversation Library where we have many conversations like this, each with a different quote, a sample claim, counterclaim, and an essential question to get you started.

Thanks so much, everybody. We will see you soon. Remember to Teach Different with conversations and make a difference every day.

Dan Fouts: 8:37 

Alright, talk to you soon.